Northern Burlington senior Samuel Thomas broke the Burlington County 60-meter dash record Saturday and moved into the all-time South Jersey top-10 in the 55.
Thomas, racing at the Ocean Breeze Elite Invitational on Saturday, placed 2nd to Ricardo Cooper of Calvert Hall College High in Towson, Md., in the 60, Cooper winning the race in 6.82 and Thomas placing 2nd in 6.91.
En route, they were officially timed in 6.34 and 6.42 for 55 meters. In the trials, Cooper ran 6.91 and Thomas 6.99 with en route times of 6.42 and 6.50.
Thomas’s 6.91 broke the Burlington County 60-meter dash record of 7.00 set in 2008 by Daequan Prince of Bordentown and moved into the No. 4 spot on the all-time South Jersey list.
The 60 is only run rarely on the high school level, but Thomas’s 55-meter dash time of 6.42 is No. 9 in South Jersey history and fastest by any South Jersey sprinter in 14 years. In 2009, Glassboro’s James Brown ran 6.38 at the Meet of Champions and Timber Creek’s Damiere Byrd ran 6.39 at South Jersey Group 3 sectionals, both at the Bubble.
Thomas’s 55 time is 2nd-fastest in New Jersey this year and fastest by a South Jersey sprinter. Ewing’s Mekhi Stafford ran 6.38 also at Ocean Breeze in January.
It’s also 3rd-fastest in Burlington County history behind two Willingboro greats – Kenny Reyonlds ran 6.36 at 1986 Easterns at Princeton’s Jadwin Gym and Carl Lewis ran 6.37 in 1979 (for 60 yards) but I haven’t figured out where.
The fastest time from all the state meets was 6.44 run by Seton Hall Prep’s Xavier Donaldson in the Parochial A race. That’s the difference between the Bubble and the Ocean Breeze track, where the Meet of Champions will be held next Saturday.
Thomas’s previous 55 PR was 6.50, which he’s run twice – at sectionals and in the trials Saturday at Ocean Breeze. He was 2nd at the state Group 3 meet in 6.51 behind Bergenfield’s Xavier Hayletts, who ran 6.47.
Thomas is the No. 4 seed in the M-of-C behind Donaldson, Hayletts and Southern Regional’s Cole Carmer (6.51).
The improvement Thomas has displayed this year is remarkable. He only ran one 55 last winter and didn’t break seven seconds (7.02 at the Bubble). But he had a breakthrough outdoor season, running 21.74 and 10.78
Northern’s school record before this year was 6.69 set by Said Mustapha at the 2008 Group 3 sectionals at the Bubble.
Here’s a look at every South Jersey sprinter that’s run sub-6.50:
6.30 … Jamar Ervin [Camden], 2001
6.31 … Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood], 1984
6.34 … A.J. Bunton [West Deptford], 2006
6.36 … Kenny Reynolds [Willingboro], 1986
6.37 … Carl Lewis [Willingboro], 1979
6.38 … James Brown [Glassboro], 2009
6.39 … Damiere Byrd [Timber Creek], 2009
6.41 … Chris Church [Millville], 2007
6.42 … Thomas Walls [Wilson], 2006
6.42 … Dominique Irons [Haddon Heights], 2013
6.42 … Samuel Thomas [Northern Burlington], 2023
6.43 … George McKey [Willingboro], 1982
6.43 … Anthony Averett [Woodbury], 2013
6.44 … Thomas Hampton [Clayton], 2019
6.44 … Malachi James [Burlington City], 2023
6.45 … Paul Wheeler [Kennedy], 1983
6.45 … Miekel House [Rancocas Valley], 2020
6.45 … Sherron Bullock [Camden], 2004
6.45 … Rob McGriff [Camden], 2006
6.45 … Antonio Tarantino [Paul VI], 2018
6.46 … Albert Newkirk [Camden], 1996
6.46 … Darnell Charles [Oakcrest], 2012
6.46 … Kashif Miller [Haddon Heights], 2014
6.47 … Anthony Jones [Edgewood], 1982
6.47 … Darren Ford [Vineland], 2004
6.47 … Reggie Morton [Oakcrest], 2012
6.47 … Curtis Fitzpatrick [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2013
6.47 … Jonathan Taylor [Salem], 2016
6.47 … Josh Washington [Woodbury], 2019
6.47 … Ahmad Brock [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2020
6.48 … Gary Gordon [Willingboro], 1995
6.48 … Fabian Santiago [Oakcrest], 2012
6.48 … Caleb Williams [St. Joe’s-Hammonton], 2015
6.48 … Clayton Crosse [Washington Twp.]. 2016
6.49 … Louis Smith [Burlington Twp.], 1997
6.49 … Michael Bolling [Willingboro], 2001
6.49 … Martin Booker [Pennsauken], 2016
6.49 … Ryquell Amstead [Millville], 2014
6.49 … Malachi Melton [Cedar Creek], 2019
And here’s the all-time South Jesey 60-meter dash list:
6.70 … Damiere Byrd [Timber Creek], 2011
6.83 … Jamar Ervin [Camden], 2001
6.87 … Chris Church [Millville], 2007
6.91 … Samuel Thomas [Northern Burlington], 2023
6.93 … A.J. Bunton [West Deptford], 2007
7.00 … Daequan Prince [Bordentown], 2008
7.01 … Michael Bolling [Willingboro], 1999
7.02 … Rob McGriff [Camden], 2006
7.03 … Gary Gordon [Willingboro], 1995
7.03 … Albert Newkirk [Camden], 1996
7.04 … Thomas Hampton [Clayton], 2018
7.06 … Sherron Bullock [Camden], 2004
7.06 … Fabian Santiago [Oakcrest], 2012
7.08 … Curtis Fitzpatrick [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2013
7.11 … Kashif Miller [Haddon Heights], 2014
7.13 … Cameron Dobbins [Williamstown], 2015
7.15 … Reggie Morton [Oakcrest], 2012
7.16 … Malachi James [Willingboro], 2021
7.19 … Sterling Pierce [Rancocas Valley], 2015
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 